Let's talk about Condo Status Certificates!
The Status Certificate Document is quite lengthy with many elements, I'll describe them below:
1. Rules and Regulations
2. Maintenance Fees
3. Special Assessments
4. Legal title of unit, parking, locker if applicable.
5. Cost of obtaining and who pays
6. Lawyer Review of the document.
1. If you have any concerns about pets (cats, dogs or exotic pets) this is the section to look at. Some buildings allow pets, disallow pets, or may restrict pet size or types. You may not be allowed to have an aquarium on the 30th floor. You may not be allowed to have snakes or spiders. You may not be allowed more than one pet of any type. You may not be allowed dogs over a certain weight.
If you plan on having pets or have pets already this section is a must to review.
2. There will be a section on how the Maintenance Fees are scheduled to increase over the next few years. There may be adjustments to this after you move in, but it is a guide. If fees are to low, this may be a sign of upcoming Special Assessments as there is not enough in the reserve fund to cover large repairs or upkeep. If fees are too high this could impact the value of your unit.
3. Special Assessments are levied from time to time for major repairs or upkeep that was unprojected. Condos are required to do structural assessments every so often and this information will be in the status certificate.
If the condo you are buying in has not followed the schedule of these assessments this could be a warning to you as a buyer.
4. The legal title of all you are entitled to is in the Status Certificate. This includes, unit legal description, parking legal description and locker legal description.
5. The seller pays the $100 to get the status certificate for the buyers lawyers review. Why? The seller ought to know if there are any special assessments coming up, if they are up to date on paying their fees and if the information contained within aligns with the information in the listing agreement regarding uses and legal descriptions. The Status Certificate is usually only good for 30 days for the information regarding unpaid debts of the owner to the corporation.
6. Lawyer review. The buyer's lawyer must review the document and approve waiving the condition. Not the buyer's real estate agent. In my opinion, the status certificate condition should never be waived before the lawyer's review.
Here is a link to Condo Authority Ontario for further information you may want to review:
https://www.condoauthorityontario.ca/resource/status-certificate/
If you have any questions and are not under a Buyer Agency Agreement in the Province of Ontario feel free to reach out.